


Slowly but Surely

by Denidene



Category: Bleach
Genre: Denial of Feelings, F/M, Frustration, HitsuRuki, How Do I Tag, If they work or not, Literally loads of denial, Matchmaking Schemes, Not sure what to add?, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, who knows - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:55:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23671918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Denidene/pseuds/Denidene
Summary: Following Rukia through her denial of being attracted to a certain captain till they finally get together. Of course, because she has no idea what she should do about her attraction, frustrations ensue~
Relationships: Hitsugaya Toushirou/Kuchiki Rukia
Kudos: 18





	1. Denial

All was quiet around her while she was doing paperwork in her taicho’s office. The serene silence was only disturbed by the sound of a brush against the paper. Her taicho was sitting in his office as well, looking over paperwork, sometimes writing a bit and setting stamps of approval.

Very distinct was the sound of the bickering of the two third seats in the background. Rukia felt completely at peace. Everything is as it should be.

Rukia put her brush down and smiled. Yes, everything was going great. She had been promoted to fuku-taicho straight after the winter war, which was a few months ago. After the war, the build up had been the hardest. No one really felt at peace or at ease. Everyone was tense.

However, after they started to pick up their lives again and their duties, everyone soon fell back into their routines and habits.

The nobles had even been quiet this time around. She was dumbfounded by their silence, but very grateful nonetheless. For the first time in her entire life in Soul Society, she felt accepted by the nobles. And that was the thing that actually disturbed her the most. Acceptance. Something she never thought she would get from them. She was glad though. At least it lessened her brother’s worries.

Seireitei was just peaceful now. This was the peace that they had all been craving for since the entire Aizen fiasco. After betrayal they all have felt because of him. After all the confusion that had been brought into the world. They had been on a roller-coaster ride of feelings and never ending wars. Now, luckily, everyone in Soul Society felt this well deserved peace.

She was about to pick up her brush again when something made her pause. Suddenly, she felt a familiar reiatsu flare before she felt the person in question move. She felt her heart beat faster when she realised that he was approaching.

After Hitsugaya Toshirou had achieved his true, mature bankai form, she could not help but feel a connection with him. Maybe because their abilities were similar. Or maybe because she had released her bankai as well during the war. Maybe because he was really hot, a small voice said. She immediately shoved it back into the deepest recesses of her mind.

She was hyper aware of him though and it does annoy her sometimes. Because whenever he was near, she could not help but feel a rush of, well, something. She could not put the feeling into words.

She found herself thinking of him more often. And usually unexpectedly. She could be doing her rounds, and something reminded her of him which would lead to her thinking of him the rest of the day. Sometimes, it was downright annoying. He was stuck in her head. Yet, she could not stop herself. She could not stop thinking of him. 

She was also disturbed by the fact that she somehow was always in a way focused on his reiatsu. She would always feel his reiatsu flare and know that he was annoyed somehow. She would always know when he was approaching her and would be distracted. And this distraction, this focus on him even if it was somehow unconscious, it annoyed her terribly.

She did not know why she was acting this way. She did not know why it annoyed her so much or why she was so focused on him. To be brutally honest, she did not want to know either. He was disrupting her peace she concluded, annoyed now.

She picked up her brush again and picked up what she had been doing. She hoped that he would pass their division. But as luck would have it, she soon realised that he was heading straight for their division. Straight for her taicho’s office.

Within a few moments, his icy reiatsu washed all over her. She felt herself shudder and she did not know why she reacted in that way. The only thing she knew was that she was agitated by her own reaction. This could not bode well for her peace.

She soon felt her heartbeat speed up and her body was burning up as well. The moment he entered the office, she felt herself blush and became flustered. And he hadn’t even said anything yet. And she was just so annoyed with her own reaction. So embarrassed as well as irritated.

She realised that she could not take her eyes off him. And she noticed things she wished she didn’t. His eyes were bright and shining. His polite smile was causing her stomach to twist themselves in knots. And she did not know if it was a good thing or not. She felt like throwing up, yet at the same time, she also felt as if she was invincible. She wanted to run away, but at the same time she wanted to hug him? She was so confused by her contradicting thoughts.

Somehow, it was enthralling though. She felt as if she could just sit there and stare at him for quite a while and just be content. 

She shook her head and forced her eyes to return to her paperwork. She was really grateful that there was no ink blot. Otherwise she would have to start over again.

Her strong reaction to him embarrassed her. She was usually not like this at all. And that was the problem, wasn’t it? She had no idea how she should be approaching this or how to handle this.

She admonished herself mentally and tried to ignore everything that was going on. She tried to focus, but the moment he started to speak she knew she was a lost cause.

She felt so self-conscious. She could tell that she was sitting there rigidly and she did not know how to relax her pose. She was just uncomfortable.

His voice washing over her, striking a chord within her. Damn, she could listen to his voice all day and have no idea what he was talking about.

He left quite soon afterwards, and somehow, even though she wanted him to leave the moment she realised that he was heading towards them, she was disappointed. She felt as if she could breathe again. She put her brush down and just shook her heads at her own reaction. Why? That was the only thing she could wonder about.

She could feel her heart calming down gradually. At the same time, she would also feel her entire body starting to shake. What on earth? Why did he inspire such an intense reaction? She put her hand on her heart and simply sat there for a while, staring at nothing in particular.

Ukitake had sensed the change in her before it was apparent to him that the young captain was on his way to their barracks. And when the young captain was talking to him, he had realised that the young captain standing before him had inspired this reaction. He eyed her worriedly, yet at the same time he was quite thrilled. He knew what was going on and he smiled knowingly. 

He had realised that his fuku-taicho had been acting differently when Hitsugaya was around her in any capacity. 

He did not tell anyone his suspicions yet, but he was dying to. He was already supporting them. He could tell that they would make a good couple. They were both young, too serious at times and ambitious, also strong and independent. And so innocent.

They shared the same element, and they were both kind and loyal to a fault. At least, to the ones they care intensely for. He would be rooting for them. 

He saw that Rukia had calmed down and was acting normally again, as if nothing had happened.

He shook his head while he resumed with his own work as well. Now, he only needed to find a way to get the two of them together. Or at least get Rukia out of her denial.


	2. Mission

Ukitake was so satisfied with himself. When he heard that there were people needed to patrol in the human world, he knew Rukia would be sent. She was the one who had the most experience after all. However, never in his wildest dreams would he have guessed that Hitsugaya-taicho would be sent.

It worked in his favour anyway though.

So, when they asked for suggestions for whom to send along with Hitsugaya-taicho, he shamelessly said that he volunteered Rukia. 

Rukia, the ever kind girl never stood a chance. She agreed, even though he could see that she did not want to be sent along with Hitsugaya-taicho. Although at the same time, she seemed thrilled as well. 

Ah, denial at its finest. 

So, Ukitake was satisfied with his own actions. He also felt a bit smug about it, but hid it very well. Yes, Rukia and Shiro-chan would never know what had hit them. He felt the need to cackle evilly, but refrained from doing so. 

Rukia was meanwhile in a full blown panic attack. She could not believe her luck. What were the chances that Hitsugaya-taicho would be going to the human world to patrol? It should have been zero. It was overkill to send a taicho, especially now they had a period of peace.

And then her taicho, it was suspicious. It almost seemed as if he had sent her out on purpose, immediately volunteering her like that.

However, she knew that she was the one with more experience about the human world. So it was not that suspicious. She shrugged and then sighed. Her taicho must really care about Hitsugaya-taicho a lot huh?

She had just a few hours to prepare. And that would have been enough if the mission was with anyone but Hitsugaya-taicho.

Really, weeks wouldn’t be enough to prepare her mentally for a mission with Hitsugaya-taicho. She would be a nervous wreck anyhow, she had to grudgingly admit. Which was absurd on itself. Even when she was about to be executed, she had never been this nervous.

When she realised that, she was surprised. What the heck?

She was frustrated now. Why, why him? He inspired too damn much emotion in her at the moment. It was not healthy. She had no clue on how he managed to do it, but it would be nice if he could stop doing that.

Okay, deep breath in, deep breath out. Concentrate on something else.

The human world. She was so glad she could return to her second home. She couldn’t wait to see her friends again. Although, admittedly, they were not going to stay long anyway. And with Hitsugaya-taicho there, there was even a chance that she would not be able to see them at all. 

She pouted at that thought. She hadn’t seen her friends in forever. 

When her mind jumped back to him, she felt her entire body shake. She shook her head. What was wrong with her? Did someone want to torture her through her nerves and emotions? She had no idea why she was so frustrated, ugh. She wanted a break. 

If this was the constant state she was going to be in, she had no idea if she would be able to handle it. She might rather prefer to be sent along with Zaraki-taicho…

She scrunched her nose up at that thought. No, never mind. Damn him for making her think of ridiculous things. She started grumbling and muttering curse words under her breath.

After a while, she sighed and shook her head. It wouldn’t and couldn’t be so bad, she told herself. There was no way. She survived Renji and Ichigo, even nii-sama. She would be able to survive this too.

She hoped that there were hollows, then she would be able to at least vent her frustrations and concentrate on something else. Or hopefully Ichigo would come over and approach her. Then she could banter with him. If so, everything would be fine.

Hmmm, she wondered if she could stay in his closet again. She dreaded living with Hitsugaya-taicho.

Ugh, no, she could not convince herself. She still dreaded it. 

Too soon, that was how she felt when she met up with Hitsugaya-taicho in front of the gates. When she saw him, she felt her heartbeat pound away fast and loud. If it could have run away from her, she would have lost it forever, never able to catch up.

“Kuchiki.” He greeted her. And she felt as if her heart had stopped suddenly. Ugh, what was happening?

She bowed and showed him the respect he ought to get, appearing calm on the outside. “Hitsugaya-taicho.” However, she was dying on the inside.

When she straightened again, she saw him smiling a bit. And she felt as if her entire world stopped. Maybe it did. She was not so sure any more. She quickly looked away, a bit embarrassed.

“You ready?” She heard him ask. She gathered her courage and looked at him again and nodded. “Yes, let’s go.”

And they both charged through.

They arrived in the human world without any accidents. Rukia was grateful for that. 

She was not even sure she could function properly at the moment. If something had happened, she would have definitely embarrassed herself.

He was really being a pain in the ass. Yet, she still could not tell if it was in a good or a bad way. Bad, she decided in the end. She was going to end up in embarrassing situations because of him, she could tell.

She was glad that they immediately started to patrol. She could feel the reiatsu of her friends in the school building, no doubt still in the middle of their lessons since it was in the afternoon.

She felt her heart still racing, and it just did not stop at all. Ugh, she wanted to scream. She really needed to calm down and get her act together. Why oh why did the universe seem to hate her so? It was not funny anymore. How did she manage to get herself in these kinds of situations each and every time?

She sighed and quietly tried to do some breathing exercises to calm herself down. It did not work.

When he decided that they should split for a while, Rukia was glad for the decision. Finally some time to calm down.

She walked around aimlessly before settling higher up on a rooftop, overseeing a huge area of Karakura town. 

She watched how the humans walked around, no idea that there was an entire world that they couldn't even see. It was astonishing. 

After a few hours, she suddenly picked up some spiritual presences. And she realised that they were hollows. She was near, so she jumped from roof to roof to get there as quick as she could. Luckly, the hollow was not difficult. This hollow activity should take her mind off things.

However, she had felt multiple. When she realised that she was suddenly surrounded, she called out her shikai, knowing that it would grab Hitsugaya-taicho’s attention. “Mai, Sode no Shirayuki.” 

Well, he could go to hell, because she had learned her lesson the previous time with Ichigo. She would play it safe.

Luckily, it was abandoned and no humans were around. It was actually kind of strange that the hollows were gathered here. Hopefully, it was just a coincidence.

It was a quick fight. The hollows were easy to defeat and soon enough she could sheath her sword again. She frowned, she still felt frustrated.

She almost screamed when she suddenly heard Hitsugaya-taicho’s voice behind her. “Kuchiki.”

She did jump a little and turn around. “Hitsugaya-taicho.”

He was frowning. Oh god, oh god.

“Good job, but next time, wait for backup.” He was still frowning, his eyes focused on her and it was intense. Her heart was beating fast and she clutched a hand over it, not that it slowed down.

She wanted to rant at him, but bit her tongue. God, where was Ichigo when you needed him?

And so, they patrolled together till evening. That is when she saw Ichigo walking towards them.

When she saw him, she smiled and ran towards him. And then, she kicked him in the face.

Ichigo was surprised at that and they started bantering and yelling. “YOU BAKA! Why can’t you greet people normally?! Midget!” He yelled at her.

Rukia laughed. “You are the baka! You should always be on guard!”

And bicker on they did. Luckily, Ichigo was on his own and no one else was near to see him bickering to thin air. It would have been a sight indeed.

Before long though, they both slowed down and laughed. “I missed you Ichigo.”

He walked closer and ruffled her hair, cackling evilly. “I missed you too midget.”

She glared at him and proceeded to kick his shin. “Ah, fuck, did you have to do that?” He exclaimed angrily.

She simply grinned back. She felt calm again. She took a deep breath and was about to say something else when Hitsugaya called her name, causing her to wince. “Kuchiki.”

She completely forgot that he was there. She felt her cheeks burning up in embarrassment. And then she shook her head, why was she like this? He saw her being herself, so what? Why did she feel the need to pretend to be someone else in his presence? Why did it even matter what he thought of her?

She turned around and he was glaring, frost was even forming. Ichigo, the baka he was, did not see it. “Yo, Toshiro!”

He shook his head. “Kuchiki, let’s go, we are going to call it a night.”

Rukia was surprised. “What?”

His gaze suddenly seemed interser, her heartbeat faster. What was happening again? “We are going to our headquarters here, to rest up before patrolling again?”

Ichigo seemed surprised as well. Rukia usually stayed with him, that was why he came the entire way. This is what they always had done. He then turned back to Rukia. “You’re not staying with me?”

Rukia looked at him, lost as well. Before she could answer though, Hitsugaya icily said. “No, she is not.” He walked over and grabbed her hand and then proceeded to drag her away.

Ichigo by then had realised what was happening and laughed. “See you later Rukia!”

Rukia then started to struggle against Hitsugaya. “Damn it, stop manhandling me!”

Hitsugaya stopped then and turned back to her. His gaze and aura telling her that there would be no room for argument. She sighed and gave up, her heart was beating so fast and she had a ringing in her ear now. Ugh, kill me, she thought.

After they rested they started to patrol again, however they did separate. She was aware of his reiatsu. She wondered if he was aware of hers as well… She shook her head. No, bad Rukia, bad thoughts.

After an hour, Rukia frowned. She had just killed a few hollows, nothing too exciting. However, she was still frustrated. She did kill enough hollows to vent her frustrations. 

It was so strange. It was so peaceful. It almost seemed like a normal night. Nothing too weird, yet nothing too interesting.

Patrolling while nothing interesting was going on, and no extreme hollow activity, was actually quite boring. She almost wished that they patrolled together again.

And when she realised what she just thought, she shook her head. Ugh, stop, someone bash in my skull please. What happened to her normally normal thoughts?

She reached around and was surprised to not sense Hitsugaya’s reiatsu anymore. What?

Suddenly however, Rukia felt a shiver running down her spine. She turned serious immediately. Rukia looked around. Someone was watching her. But who?

Soon after, a huge source of spiritual pressure from a hollow flared up. She immediately started to shunpo in that direction while she tried to call Hitsugaya multiple times. However, he did not pick up. 

She started to curse him under her breath. God. Why was he not picking up? The bastard, ugh. She was becoming frustrated. He was the one who told her to call for backup, and the bastard was not picking up.

She needed him to respond now, she could not delay this, she was almost there. One more time, and he did not pick up. 

Whelp, sad, she would have to venture out on her own then. Be damned Hitsugaya-taicho. She stopped and quickly typed him a message before tucking the phone away.

She simply could not handle people ignoring her. She had no idea what he was doing either since she could not sense his reiatsu. Was he hiding his reiatsu?

She thought he was, but she shouldn’t be assuming. But, it simply made her blood boil anyway.

What other business would he have in the human world anyway that he needed to hide from her? He knew no one except for Ichigo’s friends and family and Urahara?

Suddenly, she stopped for a split second. What if he had a girlfriend? She shook her head and ignored the pang of sadness and pain. No, she would not go there, she had to focus. But why did that thought make her feel so depressed?

She sighed. And then remembered Hinamori-fukutaicho. She would stand no chance. And his lieutenant was also gorgeous. She shook her head and scolded herself. She should focus and not daydream. There were worse things in the world.

She saw the hollow suddenly in front of her and was surprised. She just barely avoided the first blow. Shit, she immediately called out her shikai and blocked a blow. Shit, she was suddenly glad that he was not here. She probably would have missed the first blow if he was there.

She had been fighting a while before she felt his reiatsu coming her way. Soon, her eyes met his. He landed on a rooftop. She had trouble digesting that he was like, well, there. She had been spacing out for a bit, not noticing that he had jumped in front of her and blocked a blow.

“Kuchiki, pay attention!”

And she snapped out of it. Soon, they were blocking and attacking. Hitsugaya had called out his shikai as well, surprised that the hollow was suddenly so strong.

They made eye contact for a second, and they knew. In sync they moved, they each took a side and started to freeze up the hollow.

Soon enough, they were behind the hollow. They turned around and Rukia used her first dance, trapping the hollow in ice. Hitsugaya charged forward and broke the ice. 

They stayed alert for a few more seconds before they both breathed deeply in and out to melt the ice. Then they both sheathed their swords again.

When she met his gaze again, she realised that he seemed amused. And just him being there, it made her concentration worsen by the second. 

Ugh, and when she remembered that he had blocked a blow for her. She felt her cheeks burn up. Why oh why did she feel so embarrassed? 

“Sorry, I was held up.” And Rukia frowned at that. “You did well Kuchiki.” 

She smiled and nodded. “Thank you Hitsugaya-taicho.”

“Whelp, let’s go back and report.” Hitsugaya said, opening the gate.

Rukia nodded and they charged back through again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are staying safe!~  
> Let me know what you think :)  
> Criticism is welcomed, but please be kind :D


	3. More denial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it took me a while to upload xl  
> Hope you guys enjoy!~

After they got back, they both went to the first squad first to report their findings. After that, they went their separate ways. Hitsugaya was on his way to the tenth division while Rukia was on her way to the thirteenth division. If it hadn’t been very late already, she would have returned to the Kuchiki manor. But sadly enough, it was late and she did not want to piss her nii-sama off.

Rukia was on the one hand glad that they could finally go their separate ways. She could finally relax and let her guard down. 

However, since she has been focused on his reiatsu for an entire day, she could not turn it off. And since she had been hyper aware of him for a will, it was no surprise that she was still hyper aware of him. And honestly, it frustrated her. She did not want to be this aware of him.

She could feel his reiatsu slowly moving to the tenth division barracks, which surprised her. She had thought he would have used shunpo to get home as soon as possible. Then again, wasn’t she doing the same thing right now? She was taking her time as well. She really needed to clear her head for a while.

She sighed and made a detour. She was not ready to rest up just yet. She knew she had to write up a report tonight since they had a meeting tomorrow. But she was definitely not ready to write that report just yet.

She made her way to the training grounds of the thirteenth division. It was a detour since it was a good fifteen minutes away from her room at the division barracks. However, it would be quicker if she used shunpo, so it was not too far away. 

Once she saw the grounds come in view, she felt a calmness wash over her. The grounds always gave her a sense of calmness, especially at night.

Maybe it was because of all the hours she had spent training on these grounds. It felt like home somehow.

She knew she would get scolded by several people for this, but she could really care less at this point. She got down and laid on her back so she could stare up at the sky. 

It was a bright and clear night, and honestly, she could not recall when the night had not been clear in Soul Society. It was so unlike the living world, where clouds could obscure your view sometimes. The only times the weather could turn bad was when Hitsugaya taicho was in a bad mood.

Lucky for all of them, he had been in quite good spirits after the winter war.

When she realised who she was thinking about, she shook her head. No, no thinking of him.

She focused her attention on the sky. She watched the stars sparkle and shine, painting a sharp contrast against the sky. And then the moon that was bright and full, high up in the sky. The moon that had kept her company when she had been locked up Senzaikyu and pulled her through most of her nights. 

She sighed, she should not be thinking of that either.

She simply stared at the sky for a long while, feeling a calm wash over her. She focused on the soft breeze of the wind, the cold that was seeping into her body and the singing of the crickets around her. She took a deep breath. Yes, this was exactly what she needed.

She closed her eyes for a while, simply getting lost in her surroundings. She did not expect for a familiar reiatsu to suddenly appear next to her. She had not sensed him approaching at all. She jumped up instantly and almost headbutted him in his face as well. 

“Woah, careful.” The voice immediately caused shivers to run down her spine and her heart to beat rapidly. 

Rukia turned to the person in question and had balled her hand into a fist. She did not care if he was a captain or not, she waved it in his face, almost hitting him. “Are you an idiot? What the heck were you thinking, surprising me and shocking me like that, huh?”

She knew she probably would regret this the next morning, but right not, she was downright annoyed. At him for suddenly appearing. And at her heart for beating this wildly, because honestly, there was no reason for it to beat like this whatsoever.

Hitsugaya Toshirou was standing in front of her, and she just wanted to curse him. What was he thinking, just after she finally calmed herself down. She really wanted to murder him at this point.

And more importantly, they had just parted ways not so long ago, why was he in front of her again? 

He chuckled. He actually had the audacity to chuckle. And Rukia hated to admit it, but it sent even more shivers down her spine. Illegal. It should have been illegal to have so much effect on her with just a chuckle. She felt a bit weak in the knees suddenly, but somehow managed to keep upright. She did not want to fall over in front of him like that, that would be too embarrassing.

She hated him so much at this moment. Yet, having him so close was so thrilling as well. She just wanted to scream into her pillow at this point. Which reminded her of the fact, “What are you doing here, Hitsugaya-taicho?”

He shook his head, his eyes staring straight into hers. “I sensed that you were on the training grounds and had been for a while, so I came to check on you.”

Rukia felt herself getting lost in his eyes. Did she hear that right? He came to check on her? He was worried?

It seemed like the silence lasted for a moment longer than was comfortable, because he cleared his throat and said, “If you did not return safely to your barracks, Kuchiki Taicho would have my head.”

Rukia felt her heart drop at that, and she felt so stupid for thinking what she thought. She took a deep breath and tried to act as normal and as calm as possible. She felt as if she failed, and that was even an understatement, but at this point, she really could care less.

She had no idea why she suddenly felt so crushed and as if she was about to cry.

“Ah, sorry for that, you are right Hitsugaya-taicho, please excuse me.” She said, quickly slipping past him. 

What she had not expected was that he actually grabbed her arm. “Wait, Kuchiki, let me at least see you back to your room.” 

She was surprised that he actually accompanied her back to her room. She was not sure if she should be giddy over this, or feel insulted. She sighed quietly, wondering what the hell was wrong with her.

The walk was quiet and awkward, because Rukia really had no idea what to say to him. She wanted to make some small talk, but felt as if that was not appropriate. Then again, she wanted to yell at him, yet that was out of the question.

She felt her cheeks burn up in embarrassment when she realised what she had been doing when he came onto the training grounds. What could she even tell him if he asked her what she was doing? Laugh it off and pass it off as a funny story?

Sometimes, she wondered about her own life choices.

Why did she have such strong reactions to him? She just could not understand.

And the funny thing was, she wanted to be near him. However, once she was near him, she wanted to get as far away from him as possible as well.

She just did not understand herself anymore. If only she could make sense of it at this point.

It seemed like their walk took forever, while in reality it would only have been a very short walk. 

She also did not understand why they were actually walking? They could have used shunpo to get there faster. However, she hated herself for not being sure what she would have preferred.

When they got back to her room, she turned to him and bowed. “Thank you for escorting me back Hitsugaya-taicho.”

When he did not say anything, she looked up and suddenly she felt as if she could not breathe. Why was he suddenly so close? Yet a better question, when did he even get this close?

She felt her world stop when a hand reached out for her. What she did not expect was that he took her sleeve and rubbed it between his fingers. After that, he inspected what he got. 

Rukia felt her face flush at that, because she knew exactly what that was. It had been dust and dirt from the ground. “What have you been doing Kuchiki? Your shihakusho is all dirty?”

Rukia felt panic rise up in her, even though she tried to keep her face calm. She said the first thing she thought of. “I fell.”

She felt like the need to slap herself. She had literally blurted that out. He would surely not believe her.

He raised an eyebrow in amusement. “And decided to stay on the ground?”

Rukia nodded, feeling so embarrassed at having been caught like that. What would he even think of her? She hated this feeling of insecurity. Why did she value his attention and opinion anyway? Was it really-

“No problem Kuchiki.” He said, breaking off her train of thoughts.

She stared at him for a moment before replying confused. “Huh?”

He gave her a small smile, which stopped her entire thinking process.

“Good night Kuchiki.” And before she could say anything, he used shunpo and was gone.

Rukia stared at the spot he had just occupied. She hated her heart for beating so hard and her mind for lingering on that smile of his. She shook her head and got inside her room. She should not linger in front of her room like this.

When she was in her room, she realised she needed a shower and a change of clothes.

  
She groaned when she realised she had to calm her heart down again before she could write up that report properly. Her time spent on the training grounds was practically wasted.

It was going to be a long night.


End file.
